My two month old son is a great nurser, and was eating every 3 hours day and night, now all of a sudden in the last week he just wants to snack all night long. He won't eat a good full meal and is up every 90 minutes. I can't seem to keep him awake to eat both sides. Changing diapers, lights, etc. aren't doing the trick. He eats just a bit from one breast and then is out cold for about an hour-hour 1/2. This just isn't working for me, I'm exhausted! I am trying to feed him more during the day as well, that isn't helping. Any suggestions would be great. Oh, he does sleep in a bassinett next to my bed for most of the night.
It sounds like he might not actually be hungry, just fussy. I stopped night feeding my boys at a little before 2 months and started letting them self comfort back to sleep if they woke. My Doc. said babies really only need night feedings the first 2 or 3 weeks of life. They adjusted quickly and have been great sleepers every night after.
Hi K.!
My midwife showed me a trick when my son was very small: pumping his arm like you would a well. For some reason, this triggers more sucking and has them eat more. Basically you take his top arm (by the elbow or so) while he's nursing and just pump it up and down. I hope this works for you!
Best,
L.
He's going thru a growth spurt and needs to eat more. If he falls asleep at the 'switch' tickle him under his chin, his foot... keep him awake and going. Burp him and bring him back to eat. But, he will be hungrier more often when he goes thru these periods. He'll sleep more as well. It's hard and exhausting work these growth spurts. Sometimes I felt like Elsie the Cow, but it's such a short period of time in comparison to their entire lifespan when they need us this much. Enjoy the closeness and relish the opportunity to share this time with just him.
First off, I'm not sure what doctor the last lady had, but infants need to nurse at night for up to (sometimes over) 1 year. Breast milk is digested quickly and most babies need to eat every 2-3 hours for a long time.
It does sound like your little one is going through a growth spurt. I would try to keep him awake as long as you can, the advise about pumping the arm makes a lot of sense to me. Good luck.
My daughter did that! I found I had to talk to her really loudly, telling her some story (three little pigs etc.) for her to eat enough. If she wouldn't wake up, I'd set her on the floor without a blanket, and she'd wake up pretty soon, and we'd start over.
It sounds like he's using the breast more for comfort, to get himself to fall asleep, than for eating... but that's a bad habit. He needs to go to sleep on his own...
You can also consider getting him off your breast as soon as he stops sucking, not letting him linger if he isn't eating anything. That will prevent him from sticking to you just to get to sleep. (Remember, your breasts are really warm and snuggly, too...not just food). Making it clear that it's time to EAT or time to SLEEP may get him steered. It took a bit to get my daughter used to it, though (sorry!).
This happened to me as well--my problem was that I couldn't stay awake either! I'd fall asleep whether lying down to nurse or sitting up in a chair! I gave up trying to stay awake, afraid I would drop her sitting in a chair--I'd recline, holding her in the boppy, or let her fall asleep in our bed, switching sides when she woke. I have older kids too, and was just doing my best--but after nursing all night I felt very drained, more tired than when I went to bed. It feels like your day never really ends--it's really hard, I know. I did have my husband get up to feed her a bottle sometimes, and when the growth spurt passed, she started sleeping longer stretches at night. Nap if you can during the day. See if your husband goes to him and just picks him up to soothe him, that might work--check out the book Babywise to see how you guys are doing with the kind of feed/wake/sleep cycles babies this age need during the day. Good luck.
Whenever this happened to me, my baby ended up having an ear infection. It may just be a growth spurt, but I'd have his ears checked. I use the homeopathic drops at whole foods for 3 ir 4 days, then if it hasn't gone away, I consider antbiotics.
Hi K.,
Looks like your boy is resting from a growth spurt! If you remember from your first, their eating habits change a lot as their needs change. To get just a bit more sleep, I'd bring him right into bed with you. Maybe he is like my son and needs to have one hand or foot resting on me before he is comfortable that I am not going anywhere. He may skip more meals if he can feel you right there and even if he doesn't, you'll get a few more minutes of precious sleep. Bed sharing is actually safer than infants sleeping alone! (With a few common sense precautions). Families have been doing it for centuries. So please feel free to do what feels natural to you. Each family is different. You may just have to wait out what ever phase he is in. But know that it WILL change.
Best of wishes,
K.
Hey, good luck to you! I'm glad you realize that its okay to take care of yourself here...
This is just an idea - i haven't tried it, but it seems like it might help - you could pump during the day, and then have your husband take every other feeding with a bottle. You son is old enough to take a bottle once in a while without damaging your nursing relationship (and it may come in handy for him to have the skill), he'll be getting fed instead of up fussing, and you'll be getting some much needed extra sleep. As an added bonus, it may encourage him to combine some of those feedings as most bf babies prefer the breast if they can get it.
When they are in the room with you it is easy to respond quickly...maybe to quickly. Are you sure he is hungry at 90 minutes. Try putting it off and maybe then he would eat more. I know it isn't easy to put them off when it is the middle of the night and you are tired. i know end up feeding my son every 2 hrs some nights just because he is there and we both are awake and he seems hungry.
